Olympic Betting – Updating the Progress of the US Olympic Basketball Team

by Dirty on July 27, 2012

Now that the questions about whether the “Dream Team” could beat the 2012 US Olympic basketball team have been played out, it is time for this year’s team to make its move on to London and the Olympic games. The online sportsbook experts are still picking Team USA to bring home the gold, but a lot of people are starting to think that it may not be quite as easy as Kobe Bryant would like it to be. The US team looks strong, but the betting websites think they may see a crack in the armor.

Keep in mind that of the 17 gold medals handed out in Olympic men’s basketball since 1936, the US has won 13. But the last time the US lost out on the gold was in 2004 when NBA professionals managed to only win bronze. There is no such thing as a sure winner in the Olympic Games, and the 2012 team needs to hold some respect for its opponents or there could be problems in the later rounds. It is also important to remember that other countries have NBA players on their rosters as well. Spain has the NBA’s Gasol brothers and is not a country to be taken lightly.

So far in the exhibition matches the US Olympic basketball team has had, the team has won them all. But in its final exhibition match against Argentina, Team USA got off to a slow start and won the game by only six points. The other disturbing fact is that the USA defense allowed Argentina to score 80 points. The sports betting online experts know that Argentina is a good team, but it is hardly the best team that the United States will face. Most people are interested to see how Team USA does against Spain in the final exhibition match before the Olympics to judge how Team USA really looks.

While the US women’s Olympic basketball team is poised to dominate in the Olympics, the men’s team needs to keep several things in mind. The team lost an important offensive force when Blake Griffin was injured prior to the exhibition schedule. Even the football betting sites know how important Griffin is to Team USA’s chances of winning a gold medal. Luckily, the United States has a deep pool of talent to choose from when it comes to finding a replacement for Griffin. But it will be hard to find a player that will be able to match Griffin’s intensity and physical presence.

Spain, Italy and Croatia could be teams that will give the United States trouble on the way to a basketball gold medal. Is it possible that Team USA will lose a game in this tournament? The chances that the United States will lose are slim, but if Team USA falls asleep on a team like Spain, then there could be trouble in “Dream Team” land.